Twelfth Night
Ah, another classic for Lord Shakespeare himself. He never ceases to amaze the audience. Whether it’s a tragedy or comedy, the man executes it with brilliance.
I had trouble understanding the play at first because my copy didn’t have footnotes to guide me. So I turned to my good old friend, Sparknotes.com. So, here I go:
Act I has Orsino in love with the beautiful Olivia. But alas, she doesn’t feel the same. (Sigh!) The girl is sad because her brother died. Elsewhere, Viola is standard on the island from a shipwreck. Her twin brother, Sebastian, is missing. She doesn’t even know whether to hope that he is alive or not. In order to survive, she must cross-dress and act like a man. (Why cross-dressing is funny, I’ll never know.) Later in the play, Viola, as so known as Cesario, works for Olivia. She accidentally charms her and falls for Orsino. (Oh the drama!)
I hope I can get to read this again and understand it better.Twelfth Night Act II
Here is act II.
We meet Sebastian and he thinks he is not orphaned. Neither one know that the other is alive and rather well. Antonio has saved the young man from drowning. Now he wants to go with Sebastian to Orsino’s court. The young man however turns him down and goes alone. As if turns out, Antonio is gay and is in love with Sebastian. (This is Pre-Brokeback Mountain!) He follows his crush to the court.
Meanwhile Viola/Cesario has some problems of her/his own. She/he tries to confess her/his love for Orsino but the duke is still in dark about the girl/guy. (Sad, just sad.) Olivia is still clueless as well. I have noticed that despite the trans-gender theme of the play, there are no homosexual relationships in it. (I guess gays and lesbians weren’t accepted yet.)
I hope I can get my hands on an understandable version of this play.Twelfth Night Act III
I’ll make this brief and I don’t feel like putting in any wit today. So here goes.
Viola and the clown talk in the garden. Cesario was sending another love message to Olivia even though there is still a triangle dancing around. Feste is the clown’s name and he seems to be the wisest one in the bunch. Soon, Toby and Andrew arrive drunk and met Cesario. It all seems strange. Olivia finally confesses her love to Cesario/Viola. Cesario/Viola says she/he can’t love her back. Olivia seems to take it well but she still loves him/her.
From what I have read, Toby is pushing Andrew to show off his manliness to Olivia in order to woo her. Andrew, as dumb as he is, agrees to challenge Cesario to a duel. Then we come to Antonio and Sebastian. Antonio is scared of the duke due to his fights in the past. But because of his love for Sebastian, never fears him. (Okay, I’ll do one witty thing: This is still pre-Brokeback Mountain) The two men decide to rest. Antonio gives his crush his purse to buy himself something pretty.
Now, Olivia is depressed and calls for Malvolio for comfort. But when he gets there, Malvolio is wearing crossed garters and yellow stockings, smiling foolishly, and continually quoting strange phrases that Olivia does not recognize. I think it was a prank pulled on him. Pretty soon, chaos and mistaken identity follow. Andrew challenges Cesario to a duel. Antonio comes in and thinks Cesario is Sebastian. Little problem: Viola doesn’t know him. Antonio gets arrested and Viola goes to look for her brother.Twelfth Night Act IV
Here we are to act four of the play. There is only one more act to go. I really like this play. It is all tongue and cheek. It’s too bad it has to end too quickly. Well, here we go!
The act opens with Sebastian and the clown talking. The clown is trying to help the guy but Sebastian keeps telling him to go away. I think Olivia wants Sebastian now. The poor guy is clueless about this little mix-up. Toby and Andrew find him and start the duel. Now, he has to fight the stupid Andrew. Lucky for Sebastian however, he is a skilled fighter and easily defeats the dumb knight. Andrew begs for mercy and Viola’s brother leaves. But Toby stops him and the trio gets into a shouting match. (Typical of men!) Then Olivia arrives and stamps the ruckus. She drags poor Sebastian into the house, thinking he’s Cesario. (Almost like the Importance of Being Earnest).
Malvolio is locked away in a dark chamber. (I pity the poor guy all of a sudden.) He tries to convince the clown pretending to be priest that he is not mad and to let him go. Feste, the clown, plays a rotten trick on the poor man by saying the room is bright and he is either mad or possessed. In the end, poor Malvolio is declared insane and must stay in his prison. (Poor man!)
Sebastian is in a whirlwind of happiness. Confused, but happy. A hot girl is showering him with gifts and wants to marry him. It is all because of a misunderstanding. He wishes to tell Antonio the good news but his pal is AWOL. So Sebastian and Olivia go off and marry.Twelfth Night Act V
Alas, we reach the end. I shall not cry and finish this like a soldier. I really enjoyed this play so much.
Orsino and Viola arrive Olivia’s house, unaware of what has happened. Antonio is dragged in by the police and Orsino notices him as an honorable enemy. Antonio finally tells the truth. He attacks Viola, thinking he’s Sebastian. (Love hurts!) Poor Viola is lost and confused. Olivia comes out and mistakes Viola for Sebastian. Angry, Orsino decides to carry Viola and kill her. (Viola’s having a bad day.) She finally tells the truth and makes things even worse. Everyone gathers together and confuse Viola to death. Finally, Sebastian appears and confuses everyone to death. Soon, the secret is finally out. Viola confessed her love to the duke again. He wants to see her in woman’s clothing. Malvolio is finally freed but he swears revenge. (Who can blame him?) Not before he explains the trick played on him. In the end, there is a double wedding.
This was a great comedy.
